Taxes: kinds, who collects them and what they pay for

Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Closing a gap in Cedar Bend (an invented town; figures invented to show the idea). Card A, the town's numbers: it is short $1.2 million next year. Its property is assessed at $600 million, and the property tax rate is 1.2 percent. Shoppers buy $480 million of taxable goods a year, and the sales tax rate is 2 percent. The town has 24,000 households. Card B, three proposals that each raise $1.2 million: (1) raise the property tax rate by 0.2 percentage points; (2) raise the sales tax rate by 0.25 percentage points; (3) charge each household a $50 yearly fee. Card C, notes from the town finance office: about a third of taxable sales come from visitors who live elsewhere; in past recessions taxable sales fell by about 10 percent; household incomes in town run from $25,000 to $200,000 a year.

2. 1.

   At a 1.2 percent rate on $600 million of property, how much property tax does Cedar Bend collect now, Ari asks?

   • $9.6 million
   • $7.2 million
   • $1.2 million
   • $720,000
3. 2.

   In a recession taxable sales fall 10 percent. How much would proposal 2 then raise, Bo asks?

   • $1.2 million
   • $120,000
   • $1.08 million
   • $1.32 million
4. 3.

   About a third of taxable sales come from visitors. About how much of proposal 2's $1.2 million would visitors pay, Esme asks?

   • About $0.4 million
   • About $4 million
   • About $0.8 million
   • About $1.2 million
5. 4.

   Which proposal might owners of land and buildings oppose most, and why, Kira asks?

   • Proposal 3, because the fee is charged to owners and not to renters
   • Proposal 2, because owners pay the sales tax in town on what they buy
   • Proposal 1, because the property tax falls on owners of property
   • No proposal, because the three raise the same $1.2 million
6. 5.

   Which proposal would shift part of the cost to people who live outside Cedar Bend, Luz asks?

   • Proposal 2, because visitors buy about a third of taxable goods
   • Proposal 1, because visitors own much of the property in town
   • No proposal, because the cost falls on residents even when visitors shop
   • Proposal 3, because visitors count as households in the town
7. 6.

   A student says, "Proposal 2 is the steadiest, because sales tax money keeps coming in." How strong is that claim, Milo asks?

   • Weak: card C says taxable sales fell about 10 percent in recessions
   • Strong: sales taxes raise the most money in town, so they are steady
   • Weak: no tax money can be predicted from one year to the next year
   • Strong: card C says taxable sales rise whenever there is a recession
8. 7.

   Which pair of statements best sums up proposals 2 and 3, Noah asks?

   • 2 falls hardest on property owners, and 3 falls hardest on shoppers in town
   • They are the same, because each raises the same amount for the town and costs the same
   • 2 shifts cost to visitors but can drop; 3 is steady but hits small incomes harder
   • 2 is steady but hits small incomes harder; 3 shifts cost to visitors but can drop
9. 8.

   A home is assessed at $300,000. How much more property tax does proposal 1 add for it, Ren asks?

   • $3,600
   • $600
   • $60
   • $4,200
10. 9.

    The finance office finds visitors buy 40 percent of taxable goods, not a third. How much of proposal 2 would visitors pay, Tala asks?

    • $0.48 million
    • $0.72 million
    • $4.8 million
    • $0.4 million
11. 10.

    A student says, "The best proposal is the one that raises the most money." How strong is that claim, Zee asks?

    • Weak: raising money is not a goal of taxes, so it should not count
    • Strong: raising the most money is how any tax should be judged by a town
    • Strong: proposal 1 raises the most, because property in town is worth more than anything else
    • Weak: all three raise the same, so the choice rests on who pays and how steady